Quick questions

[ukants]

When a dp switch such as this (http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A331832&ts=13540&id=53010) is being used in a dedicated enclosure as an isolator between metre and CU does it matter if the incoming tails from the metre go into the top or bottom of the enclosure or is it good practice to have the supply going into the top and the load coming out of the bottom?
Also, can a CU be fitted directly to a plastered wall?

Regards,
Ukants

 

[Qedelec]

Cables can enter from top or bottom, but you need to maintain the IP4X rating on the topsurface of the enclosure.
This can ge achieved by using silicone sealant arounr the cables.

No reason the CCU should not be on a plastered wall. It certainly shouldn't be mounted on a flammable surface.

 

[Adam_151]

Either way round is fine, try and do it whichever way is easiest on the cables, and I'd say its good practice to make it clear which side is which (so no tangled web of tails)

And yes, but you might have problems if the wall is not totally flat

 

[ukants]

Thank you gents !

 

[ban-all-sheds]

No reason the CCU should not be on a plastered wall. It certainly shouldn't be mounted on a flammable surface.

Aren't CUs 'F' marked?

Seems to me that if you had a fire in one, by the time it got so bad that it set a wooden mounting board alight then things couldn't get much worse anyway....

Or vice-versa - if an exernal fire spread to a CU via a mounting board..

How many, anyway, are enclosed in wooden cupboards, or under wooden staircases?

 

[securespark]

It certainly shouldn't be mounted on a flammable surface.

What like most consumer units and intake gear the country over??

Edited to say: Sorry - did not read the whole thread....

 

[kai]

When did the regulations change, to allow consumer units to be fixed directly to the wall?

They used to require that the Consumer unit and meter be fixed to a mounting board, and not directly.

 

[Steve]

When did the regulations change, to allow consumer units to be fixed directly to the wall?

They used to require that the Consumer unit and meter be fixed to a mounting board, and not directly.

I had an old wooden wylex that was mounted to the wall, then again its wooden base probably counted as the wooden back board!!! We also had another old wylex for storage heaters, mounted to the wall. At least 40-50 years old.

 

[Adam_151]

Modern consumer units are fully enclosed, the earlyier wylex standard ones with open backs were supposed to be mounted on a non combustable surface (such as chipboard treated in a flameproofing solution) there was an optional extra of a backpanel but AFAIK these weren't widely used